TALEN & CRISPR Training School

The first Training School of the SUSTAIN COST Action (FA1208) on plant genome editing using TALENs and CRISPRs is scheduled took place on 24 - 28 March 2014 in Halle, Germany.The event was hosted by Dr. Jens Boch at the Martin Luther University in Halle.

The venue for the course and talks was the “Biologicum” building which is part of the Weinberg campus of the Martin Luther Halle-Wittenberg University (http://www.uni-halle.de/).Address: Biologicum, Weinbergweg 10, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany

Jens Boch and his team welcomed 17 trainees, 16 of whom were early stage researchers. The practical course consisted of five laboratory-working days that were combined with talks from expert scientists in the field. Participants learned to assemble TALEN and CRISPR constructs and evaluate their nuclease activity both in vitro and in vivo.

The Training School charges a fee of 300 € which includes the cost for all the material and reagents used in the course as well as the daily coffee breaks, lunches and one dinner meal. Successful applicants will be entitled to a COST grant of 160 € per day, which will cover registration, subsistence and accommodation costs. Trainees will also be entitled to up to 300 € to cover travel expenses, depending on the distance to travel.

How to apply

The application process for the training school will open on Monday, 2nd December 2013. Applicants must complete the application form and upload the following documents:

a one-page CV

a letter of support from their Principal Investigator

a covering letter detailing their research project and their motivation (max. 500 words)

The closing date for applications is Thursday 19th December 09:00 CET.Successful applicants will receive confirmation at the beginning of January 2014.A link to the application form can be found at the bottom of this page.

The application process for the Training School is now closed. The evaluation of applications has been completed, and successful applicants have been informed.

Getting to the venue:From the airport Halle/Leipzig - You can take the train from the airport station to Halle Hauptbahnhof (the main railway station). The journey takes around 15 minutes. Train tickets can be bought at the station platform from a ticket machine either with cash (Euros) or by EC-card. If you prefer to take a taxi from the airport, it will take around 40 minutes to get to the hotel and it will cost around 35 € - 45 € depending on the traffic. - For information on destinations, please visit the airport website: https://www.leipzig-halle-airport.de/en/

From the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station) - From the Hauptbahnhof you can take the Tram line 2 (direction Solauer Str), line 5 (direction Kröllwitz) or line 10 (direction Göttinger Bogen) to Ankerstrasse (around 10 - 15 minutes depending on the tram. The hotel is just a few minutes walk from this tram stop. - To get to the Weinberg Campus, take tram line 5 (direction Kröllwitz) and get off at the Weinberg Campus stop. The Biologicum building is the first building you see on the left when you walk down Weinbergweg Street. - Tram tickets can be purchased from vending machines at the tram stations. The organizers will buy 1 week tram tickets for all participants.